When arriving on the campus of Ball State, graduate Brandon Groff didn’t know what to do his freshman year.
His roommate Tim Perkey decided to go check out the various clubs at the activity fair.
“I was a shy little freshman and didn’t want to do anything,” Groff said. “Perkey was like, ‘Oh, I want to check out these clubs.’ So we went and we signed up for ultimate frisbee.”
So Groff and Perkey went to their first ultimate frisbee practice at the college level. At practice, Groff said he shocked Perkey with his speed.
“Because I was just as fast as he was,” Groff said.
On the field, Groff shows an intense desire to layout and make a play on the disc. This year, he had five Ds. Groff said laying out has never been a fear of his.
“I definitely have felt it more over my years now,” Groff said. “I definitely have more regrets after I layout now, as my back is very out of whack.”
But to Groff, he is not afraid to make the layout catch or stop.
“Whenever you want the disc, you want the disc, so you go for it,” Groff said.
Team captain Garrett Fuelling said Brandon is a great offensive weapon.
“He is very comfortable catching an incut as a cutter and throwing a continuation huck,” Fuelling said. “As a handler, he can break most marks, allowing us to get easy yardage up the break side.”
A BUDDING FRIENDSHIP
Since freshman year, Perkey and Groff have been living together. Groff said it started at freshman orientation.
“We roomed out on a whim and it worked out really well,” Groff said. “He got me involved with ultimate and helps keep me socially active. We are practically brothers at this point.”
For being “brothers”, Groff said they do anything together.
“It has been a really awesome experience to not just play with the guy, but to live with the guy and really have that connection on and off the field,” Groff said.
PLAYING ULTIMATE THROUGH SENIOR YEAR
Since Groff and Perkey joined the Wizardz team, Groff hadn’t thought about playing this long.
“At first I was like ‘oh I will just check this out,’” Groff said. “Then I had a lot of fun and meet a lot of cool people. I just kind of stuck with it.”
The year that stands out to Groff is sophomore year.
“Just because at that point in time we were a small team and tight nit,” Groff said.
Groff said that year stands out, because of the team being close.
“Back then, we would hang out every weekend at someone’s house and throw outside of practices all the time,” Groff said. “I feel like that’s just nothing that I see anymore. And I really miss that.”
From the sport of ultimate, Groff said he is going to miss the friendships and spirit of the game.
“Ultimate is a really unique sport and that it’s self-officiated and it’s kind of an on your own terms,” Groff said. “But for the most part it’s really cool to see a bunch of people out there which love to play the sport and are totally honest about it. And are just out there to have a good time, just like you are.”
Patrick Murphy 